PULLMAN — In an era where websites like these have unlimited space, there may not be enough room to capture the lunacy that unfolded Friday night at Gesa Field, the site of Washington State’s 54-52 double-overtime win over San Jose State, a game so unhinged that it broke win probability calculators and bewildered commentators and produced the kind of script that even the cheesiest movie directors would have laughed off.
The Cougars moved to 4-0 because they turned away the Spartans’ two-point try in double overtime, which came moments after quarterback John Mateer careened into the end zone for the game-winning two-point conversion, which came moments after he threw an interception, which came moments after SJSU QB Emmett Brown threw his own pick, which came moments after WSU kicker Dean Janikowski hit a game-tying field goal, which came moments after SJSU took the lead with a touchdown pass with 26 seconds left.
There really is no killing Pac-12 After Dark.
It was an insane game, the type that will be remembered around here for a long time. WSU will look back fondly on this one because this club made the plays it needed to: Edge Quinn Roff produced the pressure that caused Brown to fumble on the last play of the game. Janikowski made the kick of his life. Mateer used his best weapon, his legs, to take the lead for good.
The Cougs deserve credit for making all those plays. They also should never have been in a position where they needed to.
After the game, one of the first comments WSU coach Jake Dickert made was to admit he was out-coached by SJSU coach Ken Niumatalolo. The players won this game, Dickert said, which is true. WSU running back Dylan Paine’s double-overtime touchdown — and Mateer’s ensuing two-point run — came on the heels of the Cougar coaches’ decision to pass in the first overtime, which led to Mateer’s second interception of the game.
In that spot, WSU had already produced a stop, an interception by cornerback Ethan O’Connor. The Cougs needed only a field goal to win. Why pass — especially that deep?
Washington State made all kinds of other blunders that put Dickert and Co. in this position. The Cougs allowed Brown, who was on their roster last season, to complete a fourth-and-10 touchdown pass to take the lead with under 30 seconds left. Brown racked up 375 passing yards and four touchdowns, and as potent as his team’s passing offense is, WSU also let running back Floyd Chalk IV break free for touchdown rushes of 66 and 18 yards.
The Cougs also fell victim to a surprise onside kick, which the Spartans recovered and turned into a go-ahead field goal. They missed an extra point, courtesy of Janikowski, who whiffed on a chance to tie the game in the fourth quarter. They tried a fake field goal, which went nowhere, leading to another San Jose State touchdown.
WSU was also beaten up in the trenches all game, and the proof is in the numbers. The Spartans dinged the Cougs’ offensive line for three sacks and six quarterback hurries. The visitors also logged a whopping 10 tackles for loss, two interceptions and six pass breakups, at times capitalizing on strange play calls — like the Mateer interception — and at others simply beating the Cougars at the line of scrimmage.
That’s to make no mention of WSU’s penalty numbers: 12 for 109 yards. The Cougars also missed what felt like a thousand tackles, which is becoming a theme this season. That’s unbecoming of a team with a unique set of promising circumstances, which pave the Cougs’ way to the College Football Playoff in a legitimate way. WSU may be able to beat up on the likes of Utah State and Wyoming later in the season, but what about these next two games, road tests against Boise State and Fresno State? Commit penalties like Friday night and WSU might get clobbered.
“I take full responsibility for a lot of coaching errors tonight,” Dickert said. “I told Coach Niumatalolo — I got out-coached tonight, and our guys pulled it through. The players won this game. The players went out there made the plays. The players kept believing. They went out there and gritted it out, and I’m really proud of this football team.”
That’s the other part of this game, which should not be discounted in any way. For all the mistakes the Cougs made, all the head-scratchers and all the shoddy defense, they also came through when they needed to. Just as they deserve criticism for letting the Spartans take them to double overtime, they deserve credit for rising to the occasion.
Janikowski had been going through it. Entering Friday’s game, he had made just 3 of his last 9 field goal attempts dating back to last season, and he hadn’t connected from 40-plus in nearly a calendar year. He missed an extra point in the fourth quarter of a close game. And what does he do when it matters? Split the uprights from 52 yards, the second-longest field goal of his career.
“I got the question this week about Dean and some recent struggles, and I said, I believe in Dean, and I told him that,” Dickert said, “because it is important. For whatever reason, we’ve had some issues on extra points and on the holder and all this stuff, but for him to come back and be able to wipe that in that quick of time is impressive.”
Then there’s Roff, who also made the play of his life, coming off the edge and getting to Brown, causing the fumble that scuttled the play and ended the game. Think about his situation: He’s a fifth-year senior. In and out of the lineup last season with injuries. Still doesn’t have a starting role this year. Then he comes in and wins the game when it mattered most.
“Quinn is one of those guys that embodies what it is to be a Coug,” Dickert said. “He comes to work every day. Doesn’t always get a high rep volume. He stays ready. He stays working. He’s the first one in the building every morning before practice, getting his body ready. Just really proud to see him make a big play like that, because he deserves it. He’s stuck this thing out for a long time, and I’m proud of him.”
Even Mateer, whose story about turning a two-year backup stint into the starting job has been told a thousand times, made this win possible. He threw an interception in the third quarter. He tossed another in overtime. He missed on a pair of deep balls that would have gone for touchdowns, which has become a concerning trend through four games, but he scampered for the game-winning two points.
Then there was WSU linebacker Kyle Thornton, who may never be able to top the play he made last week, sealing the Cougs’ Apple Cup win over rival Washington with a goal-line tackle. He did his best on Friday, snagging an interception in the fourth frame that set up Washington State’s second score of the frame, reinforcing what has been fairly obvious this season: He looks a lot more mobile, a lot better in coverage than he did a year ago.
In that season, the 2023 campaign, WSU lost a lot of games like this one. The Cougs dropped a three-point verdict to Cal. They fell in a 10-7 slugfest loss to Stanford. They had chances to hand Washington its first loss of the season, including an opportunity for a key fourth-quarter stop on defense, but we know how that one ended.
So what’s different about this team? What has changed with this Washington State team, which has now turned in two wins in close quarters?
“The biggest change we’ve made is, over the offseason, Coach Dickert did a great job talking about the four types of competitors,” Thornton said. “The highest level of competitor is the person that refuses to lose. That’s the phrase we were saying along the sideline all night tonight — we weren’t gonna lose that football game.
“It was a refuse-to-lose mindset, and honestly, it just carried over from last weekend too. We’ve gotten to these close situations, but we know we’re a refuse-to-lose kind of team, and when you attack with that mindset, you see the result.”
